Listen...in this deeper things business, I am becoming more and more aware of a certain connectedness, a love which before in cynicism and arrogance I tended to minimize. It is because I WAS NOT SO LOVING...I WAS DETACHED as a self-protected entity.... walking, functioning... wounded... I had such good walls...listen... the value of each person is immeasurable... How did I not see that? It is reflected everywhere...from the love God has for us to the love shared in pain and sorrow...to the love shared in joy and laughter...what was I thinking? And what was I so needing to protect myself from? I pray for softness...for gentleness...for myself beyond pain, for me NEVER to return to the land of smug self-sufficiency...
Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
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Steve,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I will merely say thanks for your courage to be vulnerable. I think that is where everyone exists anyway and longs to connect with others in those vulnerable spots and feel loved and accepted. I know that to be true for me. Thanks for paving the way for those who know and love you.
God bless, Jim
Steve,
ReplyDeleteWishing you a good nights sleep and better days ahead. One day at a time, one day at a time. Cindy D.
I LOVE this poem...thanks for your honesty. We meditated on Psalm 23 for you tonight. We missed you at our sitting, but soon...you'll be back. Jodi
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you before you started to blog. I am very grateful you are blogging. You are a huge blessing to my day and your writings are a reminder to me to include you in my prayers. Thank you for showing your vulnerable spots. Linda
ReplyDeletewell another great poem...you are such a good poetry finder. i carry your burden with me,conciously,throughout the day. prayer helps. thank you for keeping us current.Perhaps you can give us an idea or two each day how to pray specifically? Only if it seems right, and not an extra burden. i am going to sleep now with your thought of "the immeasurble value of each person" in my mind,and if i'm lucky,my dreams. Gina
ReplyDeleteSteve,
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you for opening your heart to everyone else and sharing this journey. I hope you know your words bring inspiration to others. I , too, pray for softness, but I had not put those words to it. I am wishing for a healed mouth and belly, really good sleep at nights and water that takes like it is poured from a spring in the south of France.You are in my prayers.
Mary Lou